Pregnancy update: Overview & Final countdown

The first few months seemed to have lasted an eternity but then suddenly time didn’t stand still anymore and here I am expecting my baby boy any time now 🙂 Well, in a few weeks. I’ve been blessed with an easy pregnancy so far or maybe I just have a no-nonsense attitude towards it. I’m hoping for an equally easy and fast delivery though.

So what to expect when you’re expecting? I’ll share with you my story 🙂

The worst part was the waiting bit. The wait for that first ultrasound which proved that I’m pregnant and that the baby is doing okay. I had morning sickness all day long during the first trimester. But I didn’t vomit. I just felt sick. However, I could eat and when I ate I felt better so I ate. A lot. And gained a few kilograms in a period when you’re not ˝supposed˝ to gain weight. Other changes included dry skin and bleeding when brushing the teeth. All normal occurrences during the first trimester (bleeding when brushing your teeth comes back in the last trimester). There were occasional bouts of exhaustion and sleepiness and emotional insecurities. At one point I felt very trapped and worried about my future career prospects especially since I had to cancel some freelance work and decided not to look for a new job whilst I’m pregnant. On top of that we decided to cancel our travel plans too so at one point I literally cried my eyes out when my husband went on a short trip and I stayed at home. I also did a course in that period and successfully passed all the exams. I got my tourist guide licence! But then again, it was just another thing I couldn’t pursue at the moment. However, this pregnancy didn’t come easy to us so we decided that I need to focus on the baby.

The second trimester started with heartburn. I liked those less than the morning sickness because I didn’t feel better when I ate. I felt worse. But I just had to endure it and in the retrospect it didn’t last that long. I was happy to see that I started to show. I no longer looked like I ate too much chocolate. I looked pregnant. There was my baby bump getting more visible by each day. I got first leg cramps in that period too. And first swelling of my feet. That’s not a nice sight to behold. There was also mysterious throbbing pelvic pain which sometimes felt unbearable (perhaps the stretching of ligaments, I didn’t have any urinal infection). But that passed too. My boobs got bigger pretty early on actually and they even started to leak. Already, I know. And my belly button? It changed too. The good change was that my hair looked fuller. During pregnancy your hair falls out less so you have fuller hair but then after the delivery your hair falls out a lot. But you won’t get bald!

I spent a day in Trieste with my best friend and that was actually the only trip abroad I took this year! Yeah, very exciting for a travel blogger! Especially when I see so many other pregnant travel bloggers still travelling a lot during their pregnancy. Then we found out that I’m expecting a baby boy! So happy! We decorated the baby’s room and I started to do some baby shopping back in June. And I felt first baby’s kicks! Very gentle at the beginning and then more forceful.

Summer arrived. To be precise, the hottest summer ever here! I had swollen legs and feet every few days. And no AC at home! Also, heatwave+increased perspiration during pregnancy (especially at night). Yuck! But going to the beach and swimming helped. I avoided sun but enjoyed swimming. And ice-cream 🙂 Days passed by filled with housework, blogging, outings with my husband and friends, playing board games and doing a lot of baby reading. We attended a few very interesting cultural/heritage events in our local area too. But I hated my wardrobe and the maternity wear. And the questions about my weight! However, I quite like my baby bump and my cute belly button. It’s soft and very visible, it kind of looks like a belly button of a teddy bear. Weird, I know 🙂 However, my growing baby bump started to feel like an obstacle occasionally. Getting up from bed or from a lying position is a feat in itself. I have had occasional insomnia over the past few months too. Baby kicks became much more forceful and my husband got to feel them too 🙂 It’s incredible to think that there’s an actual baby inside me. Sometimes you can almost forget that and sometimes you feel like in an Alien movie when the baby kicks you really hard like it’s going to push through your belly 🙂

We had our babymoon weekend trip last weekend in August! That was fun!:) I posted a couple of photos on Instagram but I probably won’t write about it. We went to Gorski Kotar area of Croatia which is like Switzerland when it comes to nature and scenery (but no chocolate shops!).

And that brings me to the last trimester. There were no new conditions or problems honestly. I felt pretty good. Yes I still occasionally felt swelling of my legs& feet and leg cramps during sleep. And had some sleepless nights. And I started to pee more often during the night. I had expected worse problems for the last period of pregnancy. I had some severe backache too. And I gained 12 kilograms until my 32 week. According to my doctors, that’s a lot even though I read that the average weight gain is between 9 and 15 kilograms! Whatever! As long as the baby’s doing fine, everything is all right. The heat finally subsided and my feet no longer looked like elephant’s feet. I also lost 1 kg. I don’t know how, I guess it was water retention before. The baby started to be very active just when I went to bed keeping me awake with its kicks. I guess he’s just trying to prepare me for future night feedings. Oh yes, I almost forgot. Forgetfulness is something I experienced in the first trimester and it returned now too. As well as the feeling of being pretty stupid in some situations 🙂 But I read that the brain of a pregnant woman (and a woman with a baby) is different from a brain of a non-pregnant woman. To put it bluntly, you get a bit stupid until your baby is 1 or 2 years old. Joys of pregnancy! Speaking of which, I have had a few episodes when I sneezed and peed in my panties. How fun! Not!

And that brings me to the present moment. I’m 35/36 weeks pregnant now. How do I feel? Really well actually. So far, no stretch marks in sight! Yay! I expected to get them because I have some since my puberty but not on the belly. But you can also get them after the delivery. 😦 I am all packed and set for the hospital. My husband will be present at the delivery. And he’ll take some time off work so that we can all adjust to each other 🙂 I’m soooo looking forward to finally meeting my baby.

Oh I am 28 weeks now and my experience has been very hard. I also am having a baby boy and can not wait to meet him. I started having heart burn but found out mine was caused by the food I was eating. I also took papaya enzymes which where amazing! Blessings to you and your family for the bundle of joy!!

I really enjoyed this blog post!! I’m 31 weeks with first baby, we are having a boy too. Completely related to the first 3 months dragging I was convinced there was no baby in there haha. Can’t wait to meet baby but also will miss being pregnant! Good luck with yours 🙂

Tanja this is my favourite post of yours! What a great read and thank you for sharing such a detailed description….it’s nice to hear what it’s really like. My husband and I don’t have a family yet but fingers crossed we will one day 🙂

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